What The Detroit Pistons Should Do At The NBA Trade Deadline

The Pistons have a few options to look at as the deadline approaches, but getting themselves out from under Reggie Jackson's contract should be a priority, no matter what direction they want to take. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

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Despite owning the 11th-highest-paid roster in the NBA, the Pistons are approaching the NBA trade deadline with a sub-.500 record and still seem to be searching for their identity in Dwane Casey’s first year at the helm in Detroit. They’re on the outside looking in with regards to the postseason hunt, sitting 3.5 games behind the No. 8 seeded Hornets, who have already locked up the tiebreaker for the last spot out East. However, because the Eastern Conference is so awful, their postseason hopes remain alive, and what they do over the final few games leading up to February 7 will likely determine whether they’re buyers or sellers on deadline day.

How They Got Here

It’s safe to say that the Pistons haven’t met expectations in Blake Griffin’s first full season in Detroit, as they’ve stumbled out to a 22-29 start, which is actually worse than where they were at this point last season (27-24). They rank last in the league in 3-point percentage (33.1) despite being No. 7 in 3-pointers attempted (34.1), which isn’t all that surprising considering only three of their rotation players (Griffin, Bullock and Kennard) are above average 3-point shooters. They also rank towards the back of the pack in pace, and they’re just a mid-tier team in terms of defensive efficiency.

However, to this point Detroit management has expressed no interest in tanking or blowing up the roster, and they are in an awkward spot as a non-contending team with roughly $108 million in committed salaries next season (the salary cap next year is projected to be at $109 million with the luxury tax set at $132 million). Blake Griffin is on the books through 2022 with his massive contract, Andre Drummond has two years remaining on his deal (with a player option in 2020), and the horrendous contracts of Reggie Jackson (owed $18.1 million next year) and Jon Leuer (owed $9.5 million next season) will seriously limit what they can do next summer during free agency.

What They Need To Do

If the Pistons want to push for a playoff berth, they’ll need to acquire more shooters, but that’s easier said than done with limited trade assets. They’ve been actively shopping Ish Smith and Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock is available, and it’s no secret that they would probably like to unload Reggie Jackson and Jon Leuer if they’re able to find any takers.

Smith has had a tough year with injuries, which has limited his value, but the 30-year-old point guard could help any contending team, and with him being on an expiring deal he won’t hamstring a franchise's cap space this summer. Miami could seriously use some more depth at point guard with Goran Dragic recovering from knee surgery, and Wayne Ellington (a career 38% 3-point shooter) is available. This could be a perfect match, as the Pistons could get this deal done in a straight up one-for-one swap, with the only barrier being Ellington’s no-trade clause. However, Ellington has been in and out of the rotation in Miami this season and has made it known that he’d like more consistent playing time, so he’d likely welcome a trade to Detroit where he could start and up his value in a contract year.

The Pistons could also help their backcourt depth and 3-point shooting by looking to the Cavs. Alec Burks is available and on an expiring deal, so going after him would give them help now without hurting their cap situation this summer. Sure, I wouldn't describe Burks as an elite asset, but he's a capable 3-point shooter and would provide a much-needed scoring lift to a Detroit team that is lacking in offensive options, and they could get a deal done with some combination of Ish Smith and Stanley Johnson. Johnson hasn’t lived up to expectations after being selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft, but the Pistons could sell the Cavs on his potential and there wouldn’t be a long-term commitment here with Johnson bound for restricted free agency.

Reggie Bullock is probably their most attractive trade piece, as a knockdown 3-point shooter on an expiring deal, but giving up one of their primary floor spacers would not help their win total. That said, he’s expected to fetch an annual salary in the $9-$11 million range as an unrestricted free agent this summer, so if the Pistons feel like their postseason hopes are dead as the deadline approaches, it could make sense to unload him for a draft pick.

Regardless of where the Pistons are in the standings on deadline day, they should look at any team who would be willing to take on Reggie Jackson and/or Jon Leuer. If the Pistons want to win-now, they could kick the tires on a potential Mike Conley deal, as he would solve a lot of issues and there’s a good chance he could help take them to the postseason for the first time since 2016. They could purpose a package featuring the likes of Reggie Jackson, Stanley Johnson/Luke Kennard, Langston Galloway and a future first-round pick, but there will be tough competition for Conley’s services, and this is admittedly a long-shot scenario. The negative here is that Conley is owed $97.5 million through 2021 so the Pistons would be facing a large tax bill if they tried to keep Conley, Drummond and Griffin together, which could be tough to justify for a team that might not be much more than an eighth seed.

The Magic have been seeking a starting point guard for some time now so it couldn’t hurt to reach out to Orlando to see if they’d have any interest in a package involving Reggie Jackson and Stanley Johnson for D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross. Augustin is owed just $7.25 million next season and Ross is on an expiring deal so this would open up roughly $11 million in cap space this summer in addition to solving a lot of Detroit’s floor spacing issues. It’s debatable whether Jackson would be an upgrade to Augustin in Orlando, but maybe the inclusion of a second-round pick would be enough to get the Magic to pull the trigger.

If the feeling is grim on deadline day, and the Pistons simply want to dump salaries without necessarily getting back players that would help them now, they could reach out to Chicago. The Bulls are reportedly looking for a veteran point guard to push Kris Dunn to the next level, and with them in the early stages of a rebuild, they probably wouldn’t mind taking a few bad contracts. The two teams could construct a deal around Reggie Jackson, Jon Leuer and Stanley Johnson in exchange for Jabari Parker and Robin Lopez, which would save Detroit about $27.6 million this summer. Lopez is bound for free agency and the Pistons would have a team-option on Parker’s contract next year.

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